Formula 1 is coming to life this week.
Starting Wednesday, all 10 teams and all 20 drivers will be active at the Bahrain International Circuit for pre-season testing. This will allow teams and drivers to place their 2025 challengers at a pace and prepare them for the 2025 campaign.
Some drivers have adapted to the new team (for newcomers class drivers who are coming in, but that's not the case for Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda, who is scheduled to start his fifth F1 season, is Currently, he is a veteran of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.
In fact, Tsunoda has even had experience coaching his new teammates.
“I'm still getting to know ISACK, but I know he did a really good job in the junior category, especially in Formula 2 last year,” Tsunoda said in the team's 2025 press kit. Ta. “I think I first met him in 2018, when there was a collaboration between the French Federation (FFSA) and the Honda Junior Program. Isaac came to Suzuka for the Honda selection process and I am already a Honda driver. It was my job to be a kind of coach for others. It's fun to see us become teammates in a few years!”
As for how Tsunoda is approaching its fifth season in Formula 1, drivers are trying to improve communication with the team and overall consistency.
“I hope my fifth season with Formula One will be an extension of how the past few years have progressed and how they have always made progress,” Tsunoda said. “I'm going to nail it even more to become a more complete driver, especially in two areas. I aim to improve the way I communicate and execute it more consistently. I'd say. I think it applies not only to how I work on the race, but also outside the actual race itself.”
Tsunoda finished 12th in the 2024 Formula One Drivers Championship and finished his best finish since joining the grid for the 2021 season. His best weekend was probably when he scored points in both the F1 Sprint Race (P8) and the Miami Grand Prix itself (P7).
Consistency is also at the forefront of the tsunami mind about what he wants to get from the team and what he wants to get from VCARB 02 in 2025.
“Last year we had some degree of consistency. We're good at cars on one truck, but not the same on the next truck. Of course there was a race that I felt could do better. But in general, we were a bit lacking in terms of in-season development compared to our closest rivals,” Tsunoda added. “We caught up with it last time, but that wasn't enough. Ideally, we need a good start to the season, just like last year, but we need to push forward with car development over the course of the year. I think this will be the key to progress.”
Still, VCARB veteran drivers feel “confidence” towards their 2025 campaign.
“I hope at least we'll start this season, when we've finished our last season. By the end of last year, I had a stronger mindset and had more control than I did at the beginning of the season,” Tsunoda said. I added. “After that, I want to focus more and work on improving small margins. It makes a difference and I can continue my battle in the top 10, which is expected to be an even tougher contest this year. I think I'm not going to be a 2018 contest. I take that step by step, but I'm confident.”
Tsunoda and Hajar will be active on Wednesday when the three-day pre-season test begins in Bahrain.
